LESSON 2: THE DISCIPLINE OF COUNSELING

Guidance and Counseling as an Art and Science

            Guidance and Counseling is a professionalized degree by the virtue of Republic Act 9258 known as the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004. It is defined by the las as “the profession that involves the use of an integrated approach to the development of a well-functioning individual primarily by helping a person to utilize his potential to the fullest and plan his present and future by his abilities, interests, and needs. It is the heart of the guidance services. It is also a dynamic process where both agents relate with each other to try and see the whole picture of the situation, arrive at a similar understanding, and start identifying the counseling goals and how these will be achieved.

            Counseling (Nystul, 2011) is essentially both an art and a science. A counselor is like an artist who can be flexible and creative with how he or she can reach and relate with his client.

As a science, it practices objectivity and proper methodological process. A counselor needs to empathize and he is at risk of being irrationally influenced by the client’s emotions. The counselor needs to be systematic in observing the behaviors and interpreting information that he receives from the counselee. He uses counseling scientific techniques and methods, studying case formulations, testing hypotheses, using psychological tools for systematic assessment, and going through the step-by-step process of diagnosing and thinking of effective counseling interventions critically. This objective approach to counseling differentiates professional counselors from nonprofessional helpers (Claiborn, 1987)

The Goals of Counseling

            According to Kottler and Shepard (2007), the goals that are common to counselors and that are essentially indicative of their professional identity include assisting clients in the following:

1.       Plan and work in a constructive manner in attaining life success;

2.       Learn, participate and react positively to issues brought about by developmental changes;

3.       Express their uniqueness in diverse circumstances through socially accepted integration of their thoughts, feelings, and actions;

4.       Respond with resilience to stress and be able to buffer themselves from its negative impact on their relationships;

5.       Increase awareness of the self by identifying their strengths and weaknesses;

6.       Become mindful of the realities of life and be able to apply effective principles of coping and adjusting to the different experiences they encounter in life;

7.       Learn to seek more options or choices to be well-informed before deciding; and

8.       Achieve autonomy from counseling as they have learned life skills.

One of the important goals of the counseling process is to move the client towards proper and empowered self-management.

The Nature and Scope of Counseling

            The following are general classifications of problems and reasons why clients need to consult counselors:

1.    Academic Difficulties – student’s difficulties in accomplishing requirements and meeting the standards of education

2.    Personal Concerns – difficulties that clients encounter in planning and setting their goals, handling stress, sustaining motivation, identifying priorities, making decisions, and solving problems

3.    Social Concerns – Counselees in relating with others include dealing with rejections, handling peer pressure, relationships and bullying

4.    Emotional Difficulties – Dealing with anxiety, nervousness, and heartache; loneliness, anger, fear, depression

5.    Psychological Challenges – suicidal behaviors, managing forms of addiction, understanding one’s identity, handling painful experiences

6.    Family Problems – concerns in the separation of parents, absence of parents due to work abroad, single parenting, favoritism in the family, pregnancy, and parenting

7.    Career-related Concerns – identifying the client's strengths, interests, and personal traits and matching them with career choice

Counseling focuses on the assistance of individuals of all ages in all stages of development, assuring that the client will be able to make wise decisions in life and find meaning, purpose, and actualization in what they do.

The Core Values of Counseling

            Hutchinson (2014) offered a synthesis of moral values for effective counseling.

1.       Each person is, in essence, naturally pure and good.

2.       The primary role of a counselor is to give support so that the client will be able to attain autonomy.

3.       The essential values that will compel and sustain you in doing this work are love and compassion.

4.       An effective counselor finds the job’s intrinsic rewards more interesting than its extrinsic ones.

5.       Deal with life through an attitude of gratitude and forgiveness.

Reference:

Cleofe, M., Liquigan, B., Madrigal, C., 2016, DIWA Senior High School Series: Discipline and Ideas in the Applied Social Sciences, DIWA Learning Systems Inc.